Abortion Doctor Convicted of Murder in Baby Deaths

PHILADELPHIA—A doctor who performed abortions was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies who were killed with scissors after they were born alive.

In a case where the grisly details only compounded the emotional debate over abortion,
Kermit Gosnell
also was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 sedation-overdose death of a 41-year-old woman during an abortion procedure. Dr. Gosnell was found not guilty on a third-degree-murder charge in the woman's death, and he was acquitted of first-degree murder of a fourth baby.

Dr. Gosnell, 72 years old, faces a possible death sentence when the jury reconvenes next week to consider sentencing.

Foes and supporters of abortion rights have seized on Dr. Gosnell's case. Antiabortion activists said charges that the doctor and members of his staff severed babies' spinal cords showed the violence inherent in terminating pregnancies. Such groups have sought to draw attention to abortions later in pregnancy, an issue they believe could sway Americans who generally support abortion rights but also believe there are at least some instances in which abortion should be illegal.

"The few inches that separate a child in the womb from a child outside the womb should never determine whether its intentional 'demise' is permitted by law or whether a 'right' to kill it no longer exists," said
Marjorie Dannenfelser,
president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that focuses on electing antiabortion women lawmakers.

Some supporters of abortion rights have blamed curbs on abortion funding and abortions later in pregnancy for driving vulnerable women to Dr. Gosnell, whose small West Philadelphia clinic was shut down in 2010. His clinic had a reputation for performing late-term abortions that other Philadelphia-area clinics wouldn't, according to a 2011 grand-jury report recommending charges against Dr. Gosnell.

"In Pennsylvania and many other states with restrictive laws, women face incredible barriers that affect their ability to obtain quality care," said Nancy Stanwood, board chairwoman-elect of Physicians for Reproductive Health. "Gosnell preyed on low-income women who had few options to obtain the care they needed. His practice was illegal, unethical and unsafe."

Dr. Gosnell also was convicted of several counts of performing abortions beyond the 24-week gestation limit under Pennsylvania law, and other charges. He had initially been charged in the deaths of seven babies but was acquitted of three of the murder counts, after his lawyer argued there was insufficient evidence the babies were born alive.

The case first came to light when city and federal agencies were investigating reports of illegal prescription-drug activity at the clinic, the Women's Medical Society. During that probe, detectives were told that the 41-year-old woman, Karnamaya Mongar, had died during an abortion procedure in 2009. In a 2010 raid, federal and city law-enforcement officers discovered conditions at the clinic that prosecutors said were unsanitary, such as blood on the floor and fetal remains being stored in containers and in freezers.

The case prompted the Pennsylvania Legislature to tighten regulations governing inspections of abortion clinics by state health authorities. The clinic hadn't been inspected for more than a decade before the 2010 raid.

During more than five weeks of testimony in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, more than 50 witnesses were called by prosecutors to testify, including clinic workers who said Dr. Gosnell allowed his clinic to become unsanitary and that he didn't properly supervise staff. In a closing argument last month, Assistant District Attorney
Edward Cameron
told jurors the case was "about getting justice" for Ms. Mongar and for "those four babies who ended up dead."

Mr. Cameron showed jurors some of the equipment from the clinic, which he said was substandard, and showed a picture of one of the babies who was killed after being born alive. He noted that clinic workers, including some who have pleaded guilty to murder charges, testified they saw some babies move and heard a baby make a sound before their spinal cords were severed.

Dr. Gosnell's lawyer,
John McMahon,
had disputed the allegations. He said fetuses were injected with a drug designed to cause fetal demise before labor was induced. He noted some clinic workers testified the babies didn't appear to be alive after birth. Mr. McMahon said movement in babies' limbs could have been because of postmortem spasms.

"Those babies were not alive, that's the evidence," he said.

Dr. Gosnell didn't testify, and his lawyer didn't call any witnesses. When the verdict was read, Dr. Gosnell showed little visible reaction. Afterward Mr. McMahon said Dr. Gosnell was disappointed over the conviction, but he added, "The jury has spoken." The Philadelphia district attorney's office declined to comment.

Bernard W. Smalley, an attorney representing the family of Ms. Mongar, said, "I think justice was done today." He has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Dr. Gosnell, which is pending.

Antiabortion activists following the case have focused particularly on questions about babies born alive in the course of induced abortions, renewing a campaign around the issue more than a decade after they secured a 2002 federal law that set out legal rights for infants delivered with signs of life in the course of an attempted abortion.

The legislation had bipartisan support at the time, including from lawmakers who favor abortion rights but who gained assurances that the law wouldn't be used to undermine abortion laws or to interfere with physicians' judgments about how to treat premature babies.

Some states also have renewed a push to pass legislation echoing the federal requirement. Florida lawmakers passed a measure in April to give infants delivered with signs of life during or immediately after an attempted abortion "the same rights, powers, and privileges as any other child born alive in course of natural birth."

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